A Screening Assessment of the Impact of Sedimentological Heterogeneity on CO2 Migration and Stratigraphic-Baffling Potential: Sherwood and Bunter Sandstones, UK

Journal article (2023)

Authors

Jafar Alshakri Imperial College London
Gary Hampson Heriot-Watt University, Imperial College London
Carl Jacquemyn Imperial College London
Matthew Jackson Imperial College London
Dmytro Petrovskyy Heriot-Watt University
S. Geiger The University of Edinburgh, Applied Geology - CEG
Julio Daniel Machado Silva University of Calgary
Sicilia Judice University of Calgary
Fazilatur Rahman University of Calgary
Mario Costa Sousa University of Calgary
Research Group
Applied Geology (CEG) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2023 Jafar Alshakri, Gary Hampson, Carl Jacquemyn, Matthew Jackson, Dmytro Petrovskyy, S. Geiger, Julio Daniel Machado Silva, Sicilia Judice, Fazilatur Rahman, Mario Costa Sousa
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1144/SP528-2022-34
More Info
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Published Date

2023

Language

English

Faculty

Civil Engineering & Geosciences

Department

Geoscience and Engineering

Research Group

Applied Geology

Abstract

We use a combination of experimental design, sketch-based reservoir modelling and flow diagnostics to rapidly screen the impact of sedimentological heterogeneities that constitute baffles and barriers on CO
2 migration in depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs and saline aquifers of the Sherwood Sandstone Group and Bunter Sandstone Formation, UK. These storage units consist of fluvial sandstones with subordinate aeolian sand-stones, floodplain and sabkha heteroliths and lacustrine mudstones. The predominant control on effective hor-izontal permeability is the lateral continuity of aeolian-sandstone intervals. Effective vertical permeability is controlled by the lateral extent, thickness and abundance of lacustrine-mudstone layers and aeolian-sandstone layers, and the mean lateral extent and mean vertical spacing of carbonate-cemented basal channel lags in fluvial facies-association layers. The baffling effect on CO
2 migration and retention is approximated by the pore vol-ume injected at breakthrough time, which is controlled largely by three heterogeneities, in order of decreasing impact: (1) the lateral continuity of aeolian-sandstone intervals; (2) the lateral extent of lacustrine-mudstone lay-ers; and (3) the thickness and abundance of fluvial-sandstone, aeolian-sandstone, floodplain-and-sabkha-heter-olith and lacustrine-mudstone layers. Future effort should be focused on characterizing these three heterogeneities as a precursor for later capillary, dissolution and mineral trapping.